Chennai's ‘Shaktiman’ attacked by mare, injures leg

A police officer said Star Wellington, a male horse belonging to Chennai city police, while participating in a training session on the sands of Marina, lost balance and tumbled. A female horse belonging to the police, which was riding behind Wellington, kicked him causing a fracture on Wellington’s right front limb. The officer said that an expert from the veterinary college attended to the animal and nursed its injury. However, post-treatment the horse was struggling to be on its feet and was unable to board the police’s tempo truck. “We had no option but to sedate and shift animal into the vehicle using a charpoy,” he said. 

“The police department had acquired this horse – Star Wellington -one year ago from the stables of MAM Ramaswamy. He was being prepared for active service over the course of this one year. As part of it, Wellington would be taken to the beach every morning and trained with a batch. Unfortunately, on Friday, during the practice session, Wellington met with this accident and suffered a fracture on his leg. We hope that he would soon recover and be back in action,” the officer said, adding, “it may be hard for Wellington to join active service even post recovery as a horse’s legs have to be in top shape to continue in police duty. Otherwise, the next safe home for Wellington will be the Blue Cross in Red Hills, where he can spend his retirement years.”